Varun Dhawan recalls first meeting Sara Ali Khan at 15 on Kapil Sharma Show
Synopsis
Long before Coolie No. 1 brought them together on screen, Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan had an off-screen origin story — a gym lift, a fake phone call, and a teenage Sara quietly tailing Varun. The candid confession on The Kapil Sharma Show is the kind of Bollywood anecdote that travels far beyond the film it was meant to promote.
Key Takeaways
Varun Dhawan revealed he first met Sara Ali Khan at a gym when she was around 15 years old .
Sara admitted on The Kapil Sharma Show that she had been pretending to be on a call as a cover for following Varun.
1 (2020) , directed by David Dhawan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani , was their first on-screen pairing.
The film is a reboot of the 1995 original starring Govinda and Karisma Kapoor , which was itself a remake of the 1993 Tamil film Chinna Mapillai .
Varun's latest film with David Dhawan, Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai , released on 5 June and is reportedly the director's last before retirement.
Varun Dhawan revisited a charming backstory on The Kapil Sharma Show when he and Sara Ali Khan appeared together to promote their 2020 comedy Coolie No. 1 — recounting how he first crossed paths with Sara when she was around 15 years old, in an encounter that was equal parts awkward and endearing.
The Lift Encounter That Started It All
Varun narrated the story in his own words: 'My film Student Of The Year had already been released, and I had gone to the gym. A young specs-clad girl was running everywhere while on her phone. I was entering the lift, and she was exiting it, but then she took a sudden U-turn and came back into the lift. She called someone while staring at me, and laughing at the same time. I don’t know exactly what she was trying to do.'
Varun recalled wondering who she was calling, noting that there is typically no network inside lifts. He then noticed the girl quietly following him once he stepped out.
Sara's Candid Confession
When host Kapil Sharma turned to Sara and asked who she had been speaking to on the phone, she admitted she was simply pretending to be busy — a cover for the fact that she was, by her own confession, stalking Varun. The revelation drew laughs from the studio audience and became one of the more memorable moments from that episode.
About Coolie No. 1 (2020)
Coolie No. 1 was directed by David Dhawan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani under his banner Pooja Entertainment. The film is a reboot of David Dhawan's own 1995 outing of the same name, which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor. That original, in turn, was itself a remake of the 1993 Tamil drama Chinna Mapillai — making the 2020 version a second-generation remake. The film marked Varun and Sara's first on-screen pairing; the two have not collaborated on a project since.
Varun's Recent Work
More recently, Varun headlined another David Dhawan directorial, Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, alongside Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde. The film, widely reported to be David Dhawan's last directorial before retirement, released on 5 June this year. The father-son collaboration thus continues even as the elder Dhawan reportedly prepares to step back from filmmaking.
Point of View
But it underlines a recurring pattern in Bollywood promotion — personal chemistry stories often do more promotional heavy-lifting than trailers. What is worth noting is that Coolie No. 1 (2020) released on a streaming platform during the pandemic and received a mixed critical reception, yet the off-screen camaraderie between its leads remains the most-recalled element years later. That gap between film performance and cast likability is a dynamic the industry has yet to fully reckon with.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Varun Dhawan first meet Sara Ali Khan?
Varun Dhawan first met Sara Ali Khan at a gym, when she was around 15 years old. He recounted that she pretended to be on a phone call in a lift while actually following him — something Sara herself confirmed on The Kapil Sharma Show.
When did Varun Dhawan share this story about Sara Ali Khan?
Varun shared the story during a promotional appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show for their 2020 film Coolie No. 1. The episode brought the behind-the-scenes anecdote to wide public attention.
What is Coolie No. 1 (2020) and who made it?
Coolie No. 1 (2020) is a comedy film directed by David Dhawan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani under Pooja Entertainment. It is a reboot of David Dhawan's 1995 film of the same name, which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor.
Is Coolie No. 1 an original story?
No. The 2020 film is a reboot of the 1995 original, which was itself a remake of the 1993 Tamil drama Chinna Mapillai, making the Varun-Sara version a second-generation remake.
What is Varun Dhawan's latest film?
Varun Dhawan's most recent release is Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, directed by David Dhawan and co-starring Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde. It released on 5 June and is reportedly David Dhawan's final directorial before retirement.
